# Why is Dragon Skin body armor still popular if it failed the Army tests? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 22, 2013, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912 "2013-10-22T06:17:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/1 "2013-10-22T06:17:55Z")
In reading the [wiki about Dragon Skin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Skin)it seems that it failed time after time in the Army testing, but Pinnacle armor is apparently still doing a [good business selling Dragon Skin](http://www.pinnaclearmor.com/body-armor/dragon-skin/). These Dragon Skin vests costs thousands of dollars each. If it failed why its it still popular? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/2 "2013-10-22T06:44:13Z")
Just looking at that Wikipedia article, it sounds like the problem (or _a_ problem) is quality control. So someone might see a good vest in action and buy it on that basis, not realising that they might not _get_ a good vest. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/3 "2013-10-22T06:47:06Z")
It’s called “Dragon Skin”. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/4 "2013-10-22T06:47:45Z")
Tests have shown that Budweiser doesn’t really get you hot party babes but people still buy it. People buy the hype as much as the actual product. ---
**Author:** ![knel3030](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecae2f/32.png) [@knel3030](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knel3030)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/5 "2013-10-22T06:50:48Z")
Wait…Budweiser isn’t going to get me hot party babes?? Dammit, why am I drinking this pissed down water ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/6 "2013-10-22T08:50:45Z")
It will definitely get you the babes. Don’t give up! ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/7 "2013-10-22T09:07:11Z")
Was a big issue a few years back. What was the straight dope on it. Was it really better than the stuff the US army used? ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/8 "2013-10-22T09:38:40Z")
Uh, if you even skim the article for 5 seconds, you find example after example of the armor **working in tests perfectly**. Apparently, there’s is/was legal shitstorm about some technicalities or other, which doesn’t make sense. There’s no motive for the NIJ to hold back certification this long, especially when it’s a simple question : does the armor work, or does it not work? Apparently, when it works, it’s high quality body armor that can take multiple hits, and is flexible to wear. The “level V” version sounds like it might be able to save you if you came under fire from a long burst or a russian machine gun (assuming, obviously, that the rounds are hitting the armor and not the unprotected part of you). Seems pretty much a no-brainer to me. Look, body armor’s a risk anyway. There’s no guarantee you won’t get shot in the face if you wear it. If the armor has a 90% chance of working perfectly, and it is more flexible than the other stuff that is available, I’d take it. ---
**Author:** ![IceQube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@IceQube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IceQube)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/9 "2013-10-23T04:46:39Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Was a big issue a few years back. What was the straight dope on it. Was it really better than the stuff the US army used? I’m curious too. ---
**Author:** ![IceQube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@IceQube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IceQube)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/10 "2013-10-23T04:52:12Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > There’s no guarantee you won’t get shot in the face if you wear it. Being shot in the face is a different deal than being shot in the head. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/11 "2013-10-23T13:16:46Z")
> [@IceQube](#): > > Being shot in the face is a different deal than being shot in the head. Is it? 😕 I don’t know about you, but my face has always been a part of my head. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/12 "2013-10-23T14:23:16Z")
I’m not a conspiracy theorist in the least, but the Army’s behavior about DragonSkin sure seems suspicious- almost like they had some dog in the fight with their own chosen body armor. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/13 "2013-10-23T16:10:52Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > Uh, if you even skim the article for 5 seconds, you find example after example of the armor **working in tests perfectly**. If you skim it for just a couple more seconds you can see that there are definite NPOV(neutral point of view) problems with that particular Wiki article. ---
**Author:** ![IceQube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@IceQube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IceQube)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/14 "2013-10-23T19:44:29Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Is it? 😕 I don’t know about you, but my face has always been a part of my head. People get shot in the face all the time and survive. In the head, not so often. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/15 "2013-10-23T20:18:45Z")
Cool name, bro. No one is going to buy Kitten Fur™ body armor, no matter how good it is. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/16 "2013-10-23T20:24:20Z")
I am not up on the facts about DS, but the Army’s disapproval does not meant the product was crap. They probably didn’t want to pay the price because they didn’t seem to think it was worth it (after wasting billions on trials, of course). Look at the tale of the [XM8](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XM8_rifle) and [related firearms](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objective_Individual_Combat_Weapon). Lots of politics behind the decisions (not least of all some probably didn’t want a German weapon, and H&K is also not known for their low price point). ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/17 "2013-10-23T20:28:29Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Cool name, bro. > > No one is going to buy Kitten Fur™ body armor, no matter how good it is. Well, furries might buy it, but that’s a whole different application. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/18 "2013-10-23T20:46:12Z")
It does sound kind of weird. The only thing I could think of is that the Army tests are a lot more comprehensive than just shooting it. Maybe they found that the Dragon Skin armor breaks down in the desert heat or the disks fall off after repeated wear? Or the disks cause chaffing or something? Maybe it was just too expensive? Then again, the Army bought a bunch of camouflage that didn’t really work that well either. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/19 "2013-10-23T20:47:39Z")
Hey, if it is good enough for [Phoenix Jones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Jones)… ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912/20 "2013-10-23T23:18:31Z")
> [@IceQube](#): > > People get shot in the face all the time and survive. In the head, not so often. How can you be shot in the face without being shot in the head? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dragon-skin-body-armor-still-popular-if-it-failed-the-army-tests/671912.md?page=2)